More about abalone

Abalone breed by releasing their eggs, or sperm, depending on their sex, into the water, through the holes in their shells. The female produces about 11 million eggs. The male sperm fertilizes the female eggs, which eventually develop into larvae, which float in the plankton.

After about seven days, the larvae sink to the seabed and begin to develop into adults. They will develop and grow for two years before they themselves are able to breed.

As you may imagine, only a small portion of this larvae survives to maturity. Many are swept away on ocean currents, others are eaten by predators such as starfish, crabs and fish.

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Mollusca
Class: Gastropoda
(unranked): clade Vetigastropoda
Superfamily: Haliotoidea
Family: Haliotidae
Genus: Haliotis

Species:
Haliotis australis, Australian abalone, Austral abalone
Haliotis ancile, Shield abalone
Haliotis aquatilis, Japanese abalone
Haliotis asinina, Ass’s ear abalone
Haliotis assimilis, Threaded abalone
Haliotis barbouri
Haliotis brazieri, Brazier’s abalone
Haliotis clathrata
Haliotis chimcham Chimcham abalone
Haliotis coccoradiata, Reddish-rayed abalone
Haliotis conicopora, Conical pore abalone, brownlip abalone
Haliotis corrugata, Pink abalone
Haliotis cracherodii, Black abalone
Haliotis crebrisculpta, Close sculptures abalone
Haliotis cyclobates, Whirling abalone
Haliotis dalli, Dall’s abalone
Haliotis discus, Disk abalone
Haliotis dissona
Haliotis diversicolor, Variously coloured abalone doi:10.1007/s10592-008-9740-9
Haliotis diversicolor supertexta, Taiwan abalone, jiukong
Haliotis dohrniana, Dhorn’s abalone
Haliotis elegans, Elegant abalone
Haliotis emmae, Emma’s abalone
Haliotis ethologus, Mimic abalone
Haliotis exigua
Haliotis fatui
Haliotis fulgens, Green abalone
Haliotis gigantea, Giant abalone, Awabi
Haliotis glabra, Glistening abalone
Haliotis hargravesi, Hargraves’s abalone
Haliotis howensis, Lord Howe abalone
Haliotis iris, Blackfoot abalone, Rainbow abalone, Pāua
Haliotis jacnensis, Jacna abalone
Haliotis kamtschatkana, Pinto abalone or northern abalone
Haliotis kamtschatkana assimilis
Haliotis kamtschatkana kamtschatkana
Haliotis laevigata, Smooth Australian abalone, greenlip abalone
Haliotis madaka
Haliotis mariae
Haliotis melculus, Honey Abalone
Haliotis marfaloni, Marfalo Abalone
Haliotis midae, Midas ear abalone, perlemoen abalone, South African abalone
Haliotis multiperforata, Many-holed abalone
Haliotis ovina, Oval abalone, sheep's ear abalone
Pink abalone, Haliotis corrugataHaliotis parva, Canaliculate abalone
Haliotis patamakanthini
Haliotis planata, Planate abalone
Haliotis pourtalesii, Pourtale’s abalone
Haliotis pulcherrima, Most beautiful abalone
Haliotis pustulata
Haliotis queketti, Quekett’s abalone
Haliotis roberti
Haliotis roei, Roe's abalone
Haliotis rosacea, Rosy abalone
Haliotis rubiginosa
Haliotis rubra, Ruber abalone
Haliotis rufescens, Red abalone
Haliotis rugosa
Haliotis scalaris, Staircase abalone, ridged ear abalone
Haliotis schmackenmuut, Norweigan Schmackenmuut Bay abalone
Haliotis semiplicata, Semiplicate abalone
Haliotis sorenseni, White abalone
Haliotis spadicea, Blood-spotted abalone
Haliotis speciosa, Splendid abalone
Haliotis squamata, Scaly Australian abalone
Haliotis squamosa, Squamose abalone
Haliotis thailandis
Haliotis tuberculata, Green ormer, European edible abalone, tube abalone, tuberculate ormer
Haliotis unilateralis
Haliotis varia, Variable abalone
Haliotis venusta, Lovely abalone
Haliotis virginea, Virgin abalone
Haliotis walallensis, Northern green abalone, flat abalone

Bibliography:
Aquatic LIfe of the World, Volume 1, Abalone-Barracuda, 2001

A is for Abalone

Abalone are mollusks. They are found on seashores and shallow coastal waters in those parts of the world that have warm water, a rocky floor, and plenty of seaweed (their food of choice).

Abalones are part of a group of mollusks called gastropods. Gastropods have coiled shells. An abalone's shell is wide and flat and is used as a shield over its back.

The ridged outer surface of the shell is typically encrusted with algae, which allows it to blend into the surrounding rocks. The body within the shell is simple. It clings to and crawls across rocks using a "foot" - a large muscle. Around this foot are tentacles that detect chemicals in the water. It also has a pair of simple eyes, which can distinguish between light and dark.

Abalone are a popular seafood. Below is a video a diver made of hunting red abalone off the coast of Sonoma, CA for his dinner.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h7Q5bzewFZo

or

Women Hold Up Half The Sky

There's a website devoted to the Woman Astronomer, of the past, present and future.

Here's the URL:

http://www.womanastronomer.com/

It does not appear to have been updated since 2008, which is a pity. If you're interested in astronomy, email the website people and tell them to get back to work! And subscribe to their newsletter!

Here are the articles you can read at the website:

Historical Women Astronomers

Antonia Maury - A Spectral Star

Henrietta Swan Leavitt - Lady of Luminosity

Harvard Computers - From Pickering's Harem to Astronomy's Stars

Caroline Herschel - Celestial Cinderella

Hypatia of Alexandria - A Woman Before Her Time

Annie Jump Cannon - Celestial Computer

Williamina Paton Fleming - From Housekeeper to Astronomer

Dorrit Hoffleit - Bright Star


Professional Women Astronomers (Current)

Debra Fisher - Planet Hunter

Carolyn Shoemaker - The Comet Hunter

Jill Tarter - Looking for Life


Amateur Women Astronomers
Alice Villa-Real - Manila, Philippines

Henrietta Swan Leavitt: Human Computer

Alright, calling Henrietta a "human computer" in the subject line might be deemed as deliberately misleading my readers. She wasn't a "human computer," as in an android or a robot of some kind, or even with the brain of a computer, like The Computer Who Wore Tennis Shoes (and I'm referring to the original, and best movie, not the remake!).

She was called a computer because she did computations, in a time when mechanical and electronic calculators were not readily available. Today, she's also termed an astronomer, although that's not how she was viewed at the observatory where she worked.

Henrietta was born on July 4, 1868 and died on December 12, 1921, at the age of only 53.

Henrietta graduated from Radcliffe College, a woman's liberal arts college in Cambridge, Massachusetts. After graduating, she went to work in 1893 at the Harvard College Observatory, as a computer, earning $10.50-a-week. (Not that that was bad money in 1893!)

This was considered a menial job, although it was an extremely important one. She, along with several other women assistants, were assigned to count images on photographic plates, taken over long periods of time. By comparing plate after plate, any objects that moved could be found -- planets, comets, and so on.

Leavitt displayed such aptitude for the work that she was soon placed in charge of the other computers, and she started assessing and making her own conclusions about the data.

Henrietta's study of the plates led her to propound a groundbreaking theory, that was the basis for the pivotal work of her boss, astronomer Edwin Hubble. Leavitt's discovery of the period-luminosity relation of Cepheid variables radically changed the theory of modern astronomy. Hubble received the credit for this, of course --as is usually the case for any assistant who provides the information that the "name" scientist uses to come up with this theories. (However, Hubble did give her credit and point out that she should have won the Nobel prize for her work. Unfortunately, she died from cancer before she could even be nominated.

We can never know what Leavitt might not have accomplished if she'd been in good health. But constant illness sidelined her from time to time at the observatory, and she eventually passed away.

Marine Biologist: Cindy Lee Van Dover

Cindy Lee Van Dover is a marine biologist, who is also one of the few pilots for the submersible Alvin. (Use of the submersible is carefully regulated among scientists, who have to be trained in how to pilot it safely.)

Cindy Lee's work is mentioned in the book The Incredible Submersible Alvin Discovers a Strange Deep-Sea World, by Brad Matsen. It's the story of how the Alvin discovered the "black smokers" way back in 1979.



The Alvin is a small submersible ( a military submersible is called a submarine, a submersible used for research is always a submersible) that fits only 3 people in its circular pressure compartment. It is 23 feet long and 8 feet wide. It can travel at a maximum speed of only 2 knots, or 3 miles per hour. Alvin has been in steady use since 1964.

Before she trained to become a pilot of the Alvin, Cindy Lee was a research assistant to a marine biologist. Her first trips out into the deep ocean were in companion ships, that were used as "tenders" to the Alvin. When she saw the Alvin in use, she decided she wanted to be able to take a trip inside it -- an honor that it only granted to the world's top marine scientists.

She earned herdoctorate in deep-ocean ecology at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and did research work at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute, which is Alvin's home base.

In 1989, Cindy Lee began learning how to pilot the Alvinn

"When I wasn't working on Alvin [as an assistant to the electrician in charge of the ship)] I studied her so hard I thought my brain was going to burst. I would fall asleep with my pencil in hand, sketching out one more time from memory the power distribution system of the sub."

In 1991, Cindy Lee was certified as an Alvin pilot - the first woman pilot the Alvin ever had.

Here are three books written by Cindy Lee Van Dover. Two are "popular" books, meaning that the general public, if well read, can read and enjoy them, and one is written targeted directly at marine scientists. Generally, you can tell what type of book it is from the price. Any book over $50 is targeted for scientists, or college students!

Five Dolphin Species and Where They Live

There are almost 40 species of dolphins. Six of them live in rivers rather than in oceans - which is interesting in itself.

However, this article is going to concern itself with the oceanic dolphins. We'll start with five this Sunday, and carry on with five more next Saturday.

Where do they live?

Long beaked and short beaked common dolphins: Abundant in the western Mediterranean Sea until the 1960s

Bottle-nosed dolphins: When people think of a "dolphin", it is typically the bottle-nosed dolphin that they picture. "Flipper" was a bottle-nosed. It inhabits temperate and tropical oceans throughout the world. They don't inhabit polar waters.

Northern rightwhale dolphin: found in the Pacific.
Southern rightwhale dolphine: Southern right whale dolphins (the only dolphins without dorsal fins in the southern hemisphere) live in subtropical to subantarctic oceans of the southern hemisphere. Large populations are recorded off the western coasts of South America, where they are targeted by whaling operations; and off the coast of New Zealand

Tucuxi: Despite being classified as an oceanic dolphin, the Tucuxi lives in the rivers of the Amazon Basin!

Here's a project! Do some research to find out why a dolphin that lives in the rivers of the Amazon Basin is classified as an Oceanic Dolphin instead of as a River Dolphin!

Dolphin Data

Pacific White Sided Dolphin

When talking about the mammals of the ocean, people usually say, "I like dolphins," or "I like sharks" or "I like whales." But actually, there are several types of dolphins, sharks and whales. So its necessary to do a little bit of research to learn about each type of cetacean (suh-tay-shun) or elasmobranch, (ee-lazmo-branch) where they live, and what their habits are.

A cetacean is "belonging to the Cetacea, an order of aquatic, chiefly marine mammals, including the whales and dolphins."

A shark, on the other hand, is an elasmobranch. "Belonging or pertaining to the Elasmobranchii, the subclass of cartilaginous fishes comprising the sharks and rays."

I'll talk about sharks and rays and what cartilage is, next weekend.

This weekend, it's about dolphins.

The Killer Whale is not really a whale, but a dolphin!

Dolphins are marine mammals. They are closely related to whales and porpoises. There are almost forty species of dolphin.

Six species of dolphins are called whales, even though they aren't whales:
Melon-headed Whale
Killer Whale (Orca)
Pygmy Killer Whale
False Killer Whale
Long-finned Pilot Whale
Short-finned Pilot Whale

There are two main types of dolphins - those that live in the ocean and those that live in rivers.

Below is a list of each type. Tomorrow, I'll share more information on dolphins.

TO DO:

Start a notebook for dolphins. At the top of each page, write down the name of each species of dolphin. Then, as you learn more about each dolphin, write it on the appropriate page. If you start studying dolphins at a young age, and learn about one dolphin each week, in a few years you'll be an expert on them!

Oceanic dolphins
Long-Beaked Common Dolphin
Short-Beaked Common Dolphin
Common Bottlenose Dolphin
Indo-Pacific Bottlenose Dolphin
Northern Rightwhale Dolphin
Southern Rightwhale Dolphin
Tucuxi
Costero
Indo-Pacific Hump-backed Dolphin
Chinese White Dolphin
Atlantic Humpbacked Dolphin
Atlantic Spotted Dolphin
Clymene Dolphin
Pantropical Spotted Dolphin
Spinner Dolphin
Striped Dolphin
Rough-Toothed Dolphin
Chilean Dolphin
Commerson's Dolphin
Heaviside's Dolphin
Hector's Dolphin
Risso's Dolphin
Fraser's Dolphin
Atlantic White-Sided Dolphin
Dusky Dolphin
Hourglass Dolphin
Pacific White-Sided Dolphin
Peale's Dolphin
White-Beaked Dolphin
Australian Snubfin Dolphin
Irrawaddy Dolphin

Chinese River Dolphin

River Dolphins
Ganges and Indus River Dolphin
Ganges River Dolphin (or Susu)
Indus River Dolphin (or Bhulan)
Amazon River Dolphin (or Boto)
Chinese River Dolphin (or Baiji),(possibly extinct, since December 2006)
La Plata Dolphin (or Franciscana)
Irrawaddy Dolphin (can be either oceanic or river)